Bacon and Caramelized Pineapple Pizza

$4.40 recipe / $0.55 per slice

How ’bout we make this Monday a little more delicious, huh? I present to you this decadent Bacon and Caramelized Pineapple Pizza to make all those sweet-salty craving, Monday-blues bashing dreams come true. This pizza is sure to make your Monday better, no matter how terrible it is, or even if it’s been the best day of your life. Because bacon pizza can always make it even a smidge better. ;)

And guess what? This recipe is all about the toppings, so feel free to put them on whatever dough/sauce combo you like. Say you worked 12 hours today, no biggy. Grab a pre-cooked crust, a jar of sauce, and make this bacon-caramelized-pineapple goodness with as little effort as possible. Or, if you have time on your hands, make the dough and sauce yourself. I used this Thin and Crispy Pizza Crust recipe (but used the entire recipe instead of dividing it and let it rise for 30 minutes to give it a fluffy texture) and a store-bought jarred sauce for convenience. Here’s my recipe for Thick & Rich Pizza Sauce if you want to make your own.

But the point is, the combination of salty bacon with sticky sweet pineapple is so TO DIE FOR that it won’t even matter what kind of dough or sauce you put it on. I do suggest using Monterrey Jack cheese instead of classic mozzarella for this pizza, though, as the creamy Monterrey flavor goes extra nice with these bold toppings. A few green onions add freshness and visual contrast, but sliced jalapeños would also be fab, if you like things spicy. 🔥🌶🍍🐷🍕

Ingredients

Instructions

Slice the bacon into one-inch pieces. Cook in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown on the edges, but still slightly soft in the center (about 5 minutes). The bacon will finish cooking on the pizza. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and pour off most of the bacon grease from the skillet.

Drain the canned pineapple well. Cut the chunks in half to make smaller pieces. Add the pineapple chunks to the skillet along with the brown sugar. Sauté over medium heat until the pineapple gets brown and sticky on the edges (about 5 minutes). Remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Stretch the pizza dough to fit a 14 inch pizza pan. Spread the sauce over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the shredded Monterrey Jack cheese over the sauce. Finally, top the pizza with the cooked bacon and caramelized pineapple pieces.

Bake the pizza for about 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly on top. After removing the pizza from the oven, top with sliced green onions, cut into eight pieces, then serve.

Recipe Notes

*When I buy 12oz. packages of bacon, I cut it into quarters (across the slices) and freeze what isn't used immediately. That way I can take out one 3oz. portion at a time, as needed, for future recipes.

**I used the entire pizza dough recipe instead of dividing it in two.

Step by Step Photos

Start by cutting about 3oz. of bacon into one-inch pieces. When I buy a 12oz. package of bacon, I cut it into quarters (across the strips), then freeze it. That way I can take out 1/4 of the package (or 3oz.) at a time to use in a recipe. After I took my 3oz. section of bacon out of the freezer, I sliced it into smaller pieces, then cooked it over medium heat until it was about 75% cooked–brown and crisp on the edges, but still kind of soft in the middle. The bacon will continue to cook on the pizza, so you don’t want to over cook it. Remove the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate, then pour off most of the grease.

This little 8oz. can of pineapple chunks (in juice) is just the right size for one pizza. Drain the pineapple well (you can save the juice for smoothies or cocktails!), then cut the chunks into slightly smaller pieces (I just cut each chunk in half).

Add the pineapple chunks to the skillet where the bacon was cooked, along with 1 Tbsp brown sugar. Sauté over medium heat until the pineapple gets kind of brown and sticky on the edges. I specifically chose a non-stick skillet for this task because sugary foods tend to stick pretty bad to stainless steel and I didn’t want to deal with that. :P

The pineapple will look a little brown right away from the brown sugar, but it won’t actually begin to caramelize until some of the juice evaporates from the chunks. Then you’ll notice it start to get soft and sticky on the edges. THAT is what you’re looking for. Again, the pineapple will cook a little further when it’s on the pizza, so don’t over do it here. Remove the pineapple from the heat.

Begin to preheat the oven to 450ºF. Stretch one large pizza dough out to fit a 14 inch pizza pan (I used this dough recipe, but let it rise for 30 minutes to give it a fluffy rather than thin-crispy texture). Spread about 1/2 cup of pizza sauce over the dough, then sprinkle 4oz. of shredded Monterrey jack cheese on top.

Then add your cooked bacon and caramelized pineapple. YUM.

Bake the pizza in the fully preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly (the actual cook time will depend on the type of crust and sauce used). When the pizza comes out of the oven, top it off with a couple of sliced green onions.

15 comments on “Bacon and Caramelized Pineapple Pizza”

I am getting hungry just by looking at those pictures. Many people say that pineapple has nothing to do on a pizza, they are so wrong: salty-sweet dishes are the best. I will surely try this recipe but with prosciutto which I think is tastier than bacon. I am actually working for an events company in New York that lists several events related to food and cooking. I routinely go to such events, particularly in recent times, when I have become very passionate about home-cooked meals, and usually pizzas are on the top of my menu!

Caramelized onions are like… nearly sensual. red, especially. That said, I never got the whole caramelized pineapple thing. I mean, the whole point of caramelizing something is to sort of do to it what pineapplle… already is.has. No?

Oh, thanks for catching that! I forgot that the original crust recipe was for two pizzas (when they’re rolled thin for a thin and crispy crust they cover more ground). I used the whole dough recipe and hand stretched it so that it would stay fluffy, instead of rolling it thin. Fixing the recipe now. Thanks!

I made this and it was freaking amazing! I tried the jalepenos on top and it was a huge hit with my spicy food loving boyfriend (and me). I did mine in a rectangular pan because I once again forgot to buy a pizza pan, still delicious :)

Your pizzas are always so lovely and perfectly round! This is my hubbys favorite combo of toppings but I never thought to carmelize the pineapple. I bet this really helps to prevent soggy pizza from the pineapple juice. Can’t wait to try!

Hi! I’m Beth

As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. Join me for delicious recipes designed for small budgets. More »